1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of data communications for personal computers (PCs), and in particular to a system for delivering dynamic content, such as targeted on-line advertising, to a client device in a relatively non-intrusive manner.
2. Related Art
The Internet is quickly becoming the preferred data communications medium for a broad class of computer users ranging from private individuals to large multi-national corporations. Such users now routinely employ the Internet to access information, distribute information, correspond electronically, and even conduct personal conferencing. An ever-growing number of individuals, organizations and businesses have established a presence on the Internet through xe2x80x9cWeb pagesxe2x80x9d on the World-Wide Web (WWW).
As the popularity of the Internet has grown, so too have opportunities for on-line marketing. Advertising through the Internet has become enormously popular. Indeed, in some cases on-line services like e-mail are provided free of charge as long as users are willing to receive on-line advertisements.
On-line advertisements are typically included as an integral part of the content on Web pages. This approach suffers from a variety of limitations. For example, users tend to follow hyperlinks and move from one Web page to another, much like xe2x80x9csurfingxe2x80x9d the channels on a television. Such user behavior tends to reduce the impact of advertising, as advertisements generally are more effective with captive audiences. Even when a user views a Web page containing advertising content for a significant period of time, however, the content being viewed and the advertisements compete for a user""s attention. In many cases, these unwelcome disruptions lead users to reject on-line advertising altogether.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system capable of distributing dynamic content, such as advertising, to a network user in a manner which limits the extent to which such dynamic content competes with other content for the user""s attention.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for presenting dynamic content to a user of a client device is provided. The method includes retrieving dynamic content to be presented to a user, and presenting the dynamic content to the user at a time selected in accordance with a predetermined condition.